CO-MINGLING BEGINS JULY 5

Beginning next Tuesday, July 5, Canadian tracks will commence wagering at racetracks in Ohio and Illinois.

Steve Mitchell of Woodbine Entertainment Group told Trot Insider on Monday (June 27) that a verbal agreement has been reached with the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency to permit commingled pools, with the stipulation that certain information be provided to bettors.

“There will be a notice to customers, and the wording is essentially that teller cancel delays have the effect of delaying the position of final odds,” Mitchell told Trot Insider.

He also said the brief notice will inform bettors that a significant cancellation could affect payouts on winning bets.

The CPMA had previously ruled it would not permit Canadian bettors to wager directly into U.S. pools, however, it has now agreed to allow commingling as long as customers are aware of the facts around teller cancel delays.

Mitchell said WEG expects to get written approval of the notice to customers tomorrow, and Canadian bettors will then be able to wager into Balmoral Park, Hawthorne Racecourse and Northfield Park pools on July 5.

Woodbine will strive to gain access to more U.S. pools in the coming months, although Florida and New Jersey will need to make regulatory changes and likely won’t be in a position to commingle with Canadian pools until next year.

“We are still in close touch with New York,” said Mitchell.

“They have agreed to take this basis of how Canada is commingling with Ohio and Illinois to their regulators so they’re optimistic that they’re not going to be in the next year time frame. They believe they are going to be able to do it sooner than next year.”